A host of ball bats with shock and vibration damping and sound-arresting features have been invented and made commercially available and/or described in the patent literature. Among the U.S. patents disclosing such bats are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,703,290 to Wilson: 3,727,295 to Gildemeister. 3,811,596 to Wilson: 3,861,682 to Fujir, 3,941,380 to Lacoste: 5,180,163 to Lanctoi et al. 5,219,164 to MacKay. Jr.; 5,931,750 to MacKay. Jr.; 6,872,157 to Falone. et al. 5,785,617 to MacKay. Jr.: 6,007,439 to MacKay. Jr.; and 7,004,871 to Sutherland, et al.
Notwithstanding all of the effort that has been devoted to shock/vibration damping and sound reduction, there is a continuing and existent demand for bats which exhibit improved performance in these areas.